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Mineralogy of Chromiferous Quartzites from South India
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The mineralogy of chromiferous quartzites from Archaean greenstone belts of southern Peninsular India has been studied. The majority of the quartzites are metamorphosed clastic sediments derived from a sialic source with enclaves of ultramafic chromite-bearing rocks. For the quartzites from the Ghatti Hosahalli belt, however, a volcanic-exhalative origin is most likely. The chromium in the sediments was fixed in the detrital chromite and/or the clay minerals.
The typical mineral assemblages developed in a wide range of metamorphic conditions from greenschist to amphibolite facies comprise fuchsite, quartz, kyanite and accessory rutile, tourmaline and Cr-spinel. Microprobe analyses show high chromium contents for fuchsite (2-4wt. % Cr2O3), kyanite (up to 6wt. % Cr2O3), rutile (1.0-2-6wt. % Cr2O3) and tourmaline (2.5-7.6 wt. % Cr2O3). Cr-spinels are essentially solid solutions between hercynite and chromite (Mg/(Mg+Fe2+)=0.060.15; Cr/(Cr+Al)=0.42-0.75). Comparison with igneous chromites indicates that compositional reequilibration during metamorphism was characterised by replacement of Mg by Fe2+ and, to a lesser extent, of Cr3+ by Al. The micas of chromiferous quartzites from the Chitradurga area have high Cr and Ba contents (1.4-3.9wt. % Cr2O3; 0.5-8.5 wt. % BaO) and represent solid solutions extending from muscovite to Cr-oellacherite, A baryte-bearing quartzite from the Ghatti Hosahalli belt contains the rare assemblage quartz, baryte, celsian (Cs85Or11Ab4), fuchsite (15 wt. % Cr2O3; 8.5 wt. % BaO), uvarovite (Uv71Gro28) and tremolite.
The regular distribution of chromium between mica and associated Cr-spinel, rutile and tourmaline indicates equilibration during metamorphism.
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